LPP Alarms Over Balance US$6.2M for Elections Conduct -Says Pres. Weah Spending Lavishly, Not Prioritizing NEC Payment
MONROVIA : The Liberian People’s Party (LPP) says it is deeply disheartened and utterly outraged by the fact that at this stage in the march towards the October 10 elections with barely 84 days to go, the lame-duck administration of President George Weah is yet to pay the outstanding balance of six million two hundred thousand United States Dollars (USD6,200,000) to the National Elections Commission (NEC) to effectively conduct free and fair presidential and legislative elections in Liberia.
In a scathing press release issued Monday, July 17, 2023, the LPP said it is unabashedly disgusted and vehemently rejects the notion that public resources are insufficient to fund the most critical project affecting the lives of all Liberians when it should be crystal clear to any incoming administration that presidential and legislative elections are due within every six years in keeping with the Liberian constitutional provision.
“It is outrightly preposterous that the Weah Administration can choose to deceptively cry crocodile tears with the “no money” syndrome when we have all witnessed the utterly lavish, frivolous spending on a 49-day safari globetrotting Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the United States and the recent so-called “Holy Trip” to Israel.
“Any further delay in providing the USD6.2 Million to NEC is deliberate and tantamount to a glaring lack of patriotism, with a clear intent to undermine free, fair, and transparent elections on 10th October 2023. This Weah Administration that Liberians are determined to vote out of office, must not be allowed to get away with this last kick of a dying horse.
“All opposition political parties, civil society organizations, the Liberia Council of Churches, the Muslim Council of Liberia, all ordinary Liberian citizens, and the international community including ECOWAS, AU, UN, E.U. Mission, U.S. Mission, China Mission, and U.K. Mission must insist and prevail on this Weah Administration to immediately release the long overdue USD6.2 million to NEC without any further delay,” the LPP statement averred.
Meanwhile, the LPP takes serious exception to the establishment of an Elections Steering Committee (including NEC, our International Development Partners, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, and some purported civil society organizations) without the knowledge and representation of key stakeholders in the electoral process – the opposition political parties.
“The LPP is particularly taken aback by the stance of our International Development Partners who have given support to such an exclusive scheme, deciding the fate of our beloved homeland without the participation of opposition political parties, the key stakeholders, and principal actors/players in the electoral process.
“The LPP is, therefore, calling for the immediate scrapping of the said existing Steering Committee and demands its reconstitution forthwith to include the involvement of opposition political parties. Finally, the Liberian People’s Party says that Liberian history has shown that sustained peace, progress, and prosperity in Liberia, largely, depend upon the trust and confidence of Liberian political actors in the integrity of the electoral process,” the release stated emphatically.
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